Amnesty International Bournemouth Poole Christchurch Group – local news & events Amnesty International group for Bournemouth, Poole & Christchurch

Europe Newsletter January 2026

January 23, 2026 by zarganar

Dear Amnesty activists and supporters,
HAPPY NEW YEAR from the Europe Team. Here is our latest newsletter with updates and actions.

European Parliament votes to expand access to abortion in historic ballot

The vote could pave the way for funding thousands of European women who travel every year to another EU country to access abortion care.

Poland

European Court of Human Rights rules on violation of rights due to near-total abortion ban

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that Poland violated the rights of a pregnant woman who had to travel abroad to obtain an abortion after her foetus was diagnosed with a birth defect. It is the second time that the court has issued a judgment against Poland relating to its near-total abortion ban.

Documentary on intergenerational trauma, memory, and Poland’s fight for women’s bodily autonomy.

We are inviting you support a documentary on intergenerational trauma, memory, and Poland’s fight for women’s bodily autonomy.

The documentary brings together family members from different generations, activists and experts to explore how bodily autonomy has become tied to ideas of nationhood, motherhood and survival.

The aim is to make a film that feels honest and grounded rather than sensational, made by our CC for Central Europe Lucja, who wants audiences to understand Poland’s current abortion debate as part of a longer story about memory, control and survival. This will reflect on how inherited trauma can continue to shape political choices.

Support and read more here:

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/intergenerational-trauma-and-abortion- in-poland-do#

The Crowdfunder is only open until 3rd Feb 2026.

If you’d like to help fundraise, please contact Lucja.jastrzebska@amnesty.org.uk to facilitate speaking events on abortion rights in Poland.

Once the film is completed, there will be opportunities for screening available.

Thank you for your ongoing support! [Read more…]

South America Newsletter January 2026

January 6, 2026 by zarganar

Best wishes for 2026. This month, we bring you news from Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Argentina.

Highlights are:

Colombia: Two Urgent Actions have been published; one regarding serious risks to the life, safety, and security of peasant community, the other following serious attacks on members of the Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace
Brazil: Tens of thousands of women have marched in cities across Brazil, denouncing femicide and gender-based violence, after a series of high-profile cases.
Venezuela: Amnesty International raises human rights concerns following US’s military action in Venezuela
Chile: Amnesty International called on President-elect Kast and his administration to fulfil their human rights obligations in all their policies and government proposals.
Ecuador: Authorities in Ecuador have used safeguards intended to prevent money laundering to freeze the bank accounts of Ecuadorian Indigenous and environmental groups.
Peru: The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned that a recently approved bill in Peru, that eliminates the concept of gender from legislation and public policy frameworks, could significantly undermine the country’s human rights protections.
Argentina: A federal judge has annulled the “anti-picket” protocol that limited protesters’ actions and restricted the right to peaceful protest.

COLOMBIA

Amnesty released two Urgent Actions relating to Colombia in December. The first regarding serious risks to the life, safety, and security of the peasant communities of El Porvenir and Matarratón; the second relating to serious attacks on members of the Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace while engaging in human rights defence activities in Southwest Colombia. Please take action here and here. You can also find the first of these on the AIUK site, where you will find a pro-forma letter and do an email action: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/urgent-actions/threats-against-community-leaders

BRAZIL

Tens of thousands of women have marched in cities across Brazil, denouncing femicide and gender-based violence, after a series of high-profile cases that shocked the country. Last year, 1,492 women were victims of femicide, the highest number since a law recognising the crime of femicide was introduced in 2015. More women are speaking out against violence targeting them. Read more here. [Read more…]

Write for Rights 2025

December 15, 2025 by zarganar

Write for Rights (W4R) is Amnesty International’s annual campaign, sending greetings cards to prisoners of conscience, their families and other human rights defenders around the world. Since W4R started in 2001, millions of people have taken part, helping to change the lives of those whose human rights have been taken away. Over the past 20 years, more than 56 million actions have been taken and over 100 people featured in the campaign have seen positive outcomes in their cases.

To take online actions about all the cases on the main Amnesty International site.

You can download the Campaign Booklet and other information on the AIUK site.

You can see videos on all the cases, created by Amnesty Canada, on YouTube.

Below are two case our group will focus on this year. The Guerreras por la Amazonía we have taken on as a case file and will be working on in the months ahead.

Ecuador: Guerreras por la Amazonía
(Warriors of the Amazon)

Young Amazonian defenders fighting gas flaring

‘We are not just activists, we are daughters of the earth, of our communities. We are warriors of the jungle that refuses to die. We are the
Amazon that resists the impacts of the oil industry, and for which our communities and our planet are burning.’

Fifteen young Indigenous activists from the Ecuadorian Amazon – known as Guerreras por la Amazonía – are challenging gas flaring operations that harm their health and environment. Despite facing threats and intimidation, they continue to demand climate justice and
protection for their communities.
Gas flaring emits potent greenhouse gases such as methane, exacerbating the climate emergency. These gases severely damage the environment, biodiversity and the health of marginalised Indigenous communities in the Amazon.
In 2020, Guerreras por la Amazonía and the Union of People Affected by Chevron-Texaco (Unión de Afectados por Texaco; UDAPT)
sued the Ecuadorian state over gas flaring. Although a court ruled in favour of eliminating flares in 2021, the government has delayed compliance and the practice continues, polluting the environment and risking activists’ safety.
Urgent international support is crucial to safeguard their rights and health. Read more about the Guerreras por la Amazonía and the history of their campaigning.

Send a message of support and solidarity

Guerreras por la Amazonía
c/o Unión de Afectados por Texaco (UDAPT)
Av. Venezuela y Progreso
Lago Agrio, 210150
Ecuador

Language Spanish
Pronouns All she/her
Suggested message “You are brave warriors fighting against the monsters of fire. With your actions, you not only defend the rights of
your communities, but also protect our planet from climate change.
Keep fighting to extinguish the gas flares and ignite life. You have all our support. Your struggle is our struggle.”

In Spanish this is

“Eres valiente; guerreros que lucha contra los monstruos de fuego. Con tus acciones, no solo defiendes los derechos de tus comunidades, sino que también proteges nuestro planeta del cambio climático.Sigue luchando para extinguir las antorchas de gas e encender la vida. Cuentas con todo nuestro apoyo. Tu lucha es nuestra lucha” [Read more…]

Alena Chekhovich Webinar

December 15, 2025 by zarganar

This is a recording of a webinar by the Amnesty International South West England Network on 4 December 2025. This features Alena Chekhovich a human rights defender from Belarus.

Alena is a lawyer and legal analyst at Belarusian human rights organisation Human Constanta and international relations manager at the initiative LegalHub. She works on behalf of vulnerable communities, in particular refugees and stateless people, in Belarus. Her main focus is on discrimination, arbitrary detention and exile of foreigners, detention conditions, access to justice and the rule of law, torture and other inhumane treatments, and on strategies to reduce statelessness and raise awareness of the right to international protection.

Alena has, through her human rights work, become subject to intimidation and targeted harassment in Belarus. She had to leave Belarus in December 2022 and now works in exile.